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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Some New Wine Blogs for the New Year

There are some fresh voices in the wine blogosphere, and I wanted to point out some new blogs--or at least blogs that are new to me--that are becoming regular reading. Some of them are written by familiar visitors to this site, who are now contributing to the unfolding wine conversation here on the 'net. It's good to have you all in the neighborhood! (nifty wine blogger logo courtesy of Ryan Opaz's wine blogger information site)

Wine Scamp: Andrea Middleton blogs from the Lone Star state, and has been blogging since August. Tom Wark highlighted her blog a little while ago, and I have to agree that she is a great addition to the wine blogging scene. A great writer, with a wide-ranging palate, the Wine Scamp's lively posts will keep you coming back for more.

Anything Wine: John Witherspoon has a little chunk of heaven outside Richmond, and has been blogging since the summer of 2006. I'm not sure how I missed him for so long, but I'm glad that I found him! Another blogger with a wide-ranging palate, John is a Cork'd regular and dedicated to finding and commenting on wine news from around the world.

Wine Connections: regular reader Orion Slayer didn't think he could start a blog since he was just getting interested in wine. So far he's watched every episode of WLTV, and had a Seyval Blanc from Missouri. When you start drinking white wines from Missouri, you are ready to blog! Posts have slowed down during the holiday season, but I'm hoping OrionSlayer gets back in the swing with regular postings in 2008.

Indiscriminate Ideas: another regular reader, Jeff Cleveland, writes about life and wine and everything in between on his blog. Since October, Jeff's posts have started including more wine coverage and though he claims he's far from a wine blogger, I'm not so sure...

OeNo! Not Another Wine Blog: Eddie from New York wins the prize for creative wine blog title, and is a self-proclaimed "wine novice." Since November he's been sharing his tips and tricks for wine newbies, and writes clear and detailed tasting notes that are models of the genre in case you are looking for style pointers. With sub-headings like "the story," "the region," "the look," "the aroma," "the swish" (my favorite), and "the verdict," Eddie's tasting notes are not only fun to read they are elegantly structured and easy to read and grasp. Just when you thought there was nothing new in tasting notes, Eddie proves there is.

West Coast Wine Adventures: Amy (aka the SB Wine Advocate) is the most regular blogger on this site, and has a few other friends and colleagues who post on it as well. They've been blogging since August, and offer a wonderful perspective on California wines with a particular emphasis on Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. You can spend hours on their site following all the links and threads, and I encourage you to take some time and do just that.

Happy reading. There's a lot of good information on wine out there on the 'net. What have you found that you recommend?

Hi Dr.Debs.Nice collection of blogs to try out for the New Year. I look forward to your email coming into my in-box announcing the arrival of another entry to your blog. I expect to see many exciting developments during 2008 for the wine blogosphere. I just had the privilege of being invited by Answer.com to try out their new Wine Word of the Day widget. Should be an exciting year ahead.

Thanks for pointing out some new blogs, as well as some I already enjoy reading. Not that I've had time lately, but come January when the winery slows down, it'll give me something to do when no one's coming in...

You're entirely welcome, John and Amy. Thanks to both of you for writing such excellent blogs. Wilf, your kind words mean a lot. I think we are all in for a great 2008 in the wine blogging world, and I'll be eager to hear how the Wine Word of the Day widget works out. Farley, working with customers in any capacity between December 1 and January 5 is a nightmare. But soon, as you say, it will subside!

Dr. Debs. You are responsible for "bloggenizing" me during this past year and thus I remain grateful. I just started my very personal and novice blog at http://sergioswines.wordpress.com/ and hope its audience grows slowly but steadily. It is written in Spanish by a fictional character named Sergio who enjoys the photography of the Kiss and wines from el Cono Sur. Thank you again for your illustrative and fun blog. Un abrazo.

Nice new blogs. I have to spend some time and check them out. I'm new to the wine blogging myself. My blog was just started this month. Hope to be a part of next year's New Blog List! :) Keep up the great work.

Gerry, if bloggerizing isn't a word it should be. Glad that you have joined the band of bloggers--I've put a link to you in the sidebar. I think I have just enough command of Spanish to follow it! Jeff, I'm glad to hear it and will look forward to reading it, and Greg's blog, during 2008.

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All wine ratings are subjective. On this blog, I indicate QPR (quality to price ratio) for the wines I review rather than using the familiar 100-point scale because it better reflects my interest in a wide variety of high quality, reasonably priced wine. Here is how I evaluate the wine I review: Excellent QPR is used to describe a wine that has strong varietal characteristics and an attractive price point for that varietal. Very good QPR designates a wine with strong varietal characteristics and a less attractive price point for that varietal OR moderate varietal characteristics and an attractive price point. Good QPR designates a wine that is average in varietal characteristics and price point. Poor QPR designates a wine that is not a good quality for the price paid, because it lacks varietal characteristics and/or demands too high a price for the wine it delivers.
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